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Green Line to get some kind of next-train message boards
By adamg on Wed, 09/18/2013 - 3:07pm
Incoming Celtics player Kelly Olynyk will help the T inaugurate the first electronic signboard to let you know the next trolley is approaching/arriving, in a ceremony tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Kenmore station.
For the first time on the Green Line, electronic message boards will provide "Next Train" information.
The T says it will explain exactly what that means at the ceremony.
Olynyk, who went to Gonzaga, will then ride the Green Line to North Station with state Transportation Secretary Richard Davey, who went to Gonzaga law school.
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Comments
Is this a joke? How could
Is this a joke? How could they do this? I thought the Green Line doesn't have GPS or electronic tracking?
Track sensors in the tunnels
Track sensors in the tunnels + the same GPS units the buses use topside = real time tracking. Not that hard despite whatever the management claims.
You mean the same track sensors used to trip
the switches. Because anyone who rides the Green Line on a regular basis can tell you how reliable those are - not!
OK, might not be that sophisticated
It might just be "the next train is now approaching/arriving" messages, not "LCHMR 18 MIN." Checking for more info.
According to Boston magazine,
According to Boston magazine, the MBTA is referring to them as "Next Train" signs. Perhaps the boards will simply say next trolley arriving and won't be destination specific?
According to a railroad.net
According to a railroad.net poster, the signs will tell you what train is next, but not how long you will wait for it.
We shall see
Am I dead?
Did I go to heaven?
Is hell freezing over?
Am I dreaming?
Someone wake me up...
I want to know if I'm dead, too.
I was thinking precisely the same thing, but I'm waiting for Adam to come back with more info.
If this is truly a "next D-train in 4 minutes; next C-train in 2 min" system, it will be, so far as I am concerned, the best thing the T has done since extending the Red Line to Alewife.
If it is such a system
I suspect the messages would be more like
"Next C Train - 18 MIN"
"Next D Train - 26 MIN"
"Next Gov Cntr Train - 3 Sec"
"Next Lchmre Train" - 48 MIN"
Next B Train - Doesn't
Next B Train - Doesn't matter, it's already full anyway.
Not to denigrate the hard
Not to denigrate the hard work that obviously went into this, but do we really need a ceremony?
I wish I could've been there for the conversation about this with the Celtics.
"Hey Danny, it's Joe over at the MBTA. We got these new 'next train arriving' e-signs for the green line and we're super stoked about them. Going to have a ceremony and everything! Hey could you sent us over a guy to make this ceremony seem kinda important?"
"Sure, I'll send over
Paul Pierce, er,KG, ah....let's see, how about a rookie?""Do you think he might be on TV during a Celtics game this season?"
"Probably."
"Great!"
Based on the trajectory of
Based on the trajectory of this Celtics season, it might have been their idea.
Based on the overcrowding and generally
pathetic performance of the Green Line, the question should be this: Do we really need another pointless electronic "whiz-bang" gimmick from Davey and his cohorts?
Put more trains in service. And schedule those trains according to how they actually run, as opposed to the current system of "train's running late, so dump all the passengers and loop it back" or "train's running early, so sit in (X) station and delay all the passengers."
In other words, start providing the transportation service your customers pay you for first. Then we can discuss your "Johnny Science" ideas about putting in some sort of flashy information system.
*eye roll*
I take it you don't ride the T do you?
I ride it every day, sometimes several times a day. It's my almost sole means of transportation.
I *live* by the GPS Tracker thing... (I use NextBus and T Times apps). I think it's the best thing since sliced bread.
It certainly makes the delays/issues/whatever a lot easier to deal with since you're "in the know" now with the apps and station signage. Yeah I know, even still its faulty, but think about what it was like before.. you'd just wait and wait and you might hear Charlie Brown's teacher mumble something over the PA system. This is far better, even with its flaws.
And the best part, the cost is probably nominal since most of the green line stations have already been upgraded with electronic signage, so this is probably a cheap software upgrade (essentially an easy win for the T)
I do agree that the T has a lot to be desired with service level and issues, but you know, every little thing helps, including this.
I DO ride the MBTA every day
and have for the past 35+ years. When I can reliably get to and from North Station without (a) having to wait forever for a train and/or (b) not have eastbound trains routinely short-turned or westbound trains routinely held for "schedule adjustments", then let's talk about these "necessary" gimmicks.
And, with respect, citing minimal costs and "every little bit helps" does nothing to solve the underlying problem - lack of a sufficient number of trains. Let's fix the real issues first - after all, that's what we're supposed to be getting for the fares we pay - a reliable and frequent transportation service.
The MBTA's common justification for implementing this type of nonsense instead of actually running trains and buses that would get us to and from work, etc. on time is "it's what the passengers want". I and several of my co-workers have been pressing the MBTA for a number of years for legitimate improvements in service (more trains and better scheduling for starters).
Apart from the occasional "form letter" responses, our requests have largely fallen on deaf ears. And a big reason the T continues to get away with ignoring the elephant in the living room of poor service is because of people like you who always go "ooh and aah - isn't this wonderful the T is doing these things" instead of asking legitimate questions like "will this result in actually reducing overcrowding (which is at the core of long dwell times, "short-turns", "schedule adjustments", and most of the other issues that slow down trains).
*yawn*
*sigh* anon...
Look I get it. Yes reliable transportation . Like I said in my last paragraph, I agree with you that the T could be more reliable, but every little tool helps. It's far better than what it was before..
I'm also willing to wager that you don't use the apps. You're so quick to call it a gimmick, I bet you've never used it. Try it sometime, you might actually LIKE it. Most do.
And it's not a gimmick, and if it was, then a whole lot of transit agencies across the world have been duped too.
See for yourself..
http://www.nextbus.com/predictor/agencySelector.jsp
It's far from a gimmick. The T is just finally getting around to it, unlike most transit agencies have been using this system for over a decade. You should be HAPPY the T is finally catching up with the rest of the world.
Like I said, I get your point, but no need to go off on a T bashing rant because your opinion of the tracker is a 'gimmick'
feh, I'm so over the anons here...
I sympathize, but
well, not really. Service is inadequate, on that we agree. But it's not a matter of simply running more trains, as if that's something they can just decide to do. There is a matter of having enough serviceable equipment. There is a matter of having a robust signalling system. There are things the 'T needs before it can simply add more trains to the schedule. I agree we should be angry, but yours is misplaced. Be angry at the legislature for manipulating the T's debt in order to pull a fast one on big dig costs. Blame them again for forward funding. Blame the ADA for mandating expensive retrofitting of existing stations (not something I oppose). Basically, you want the 'T to do something it can't do because there's no money. Let's channel that anger to action. Address your concerns to the legislature and Governor, and rest assured that countdown clocks are not the cause of poor service.
You think the problem is
You think the problem is there aren't enough trains in the Central Subway?
Question for you
Is this an organized activist group, and which one?
Post updated with correct, vague information
The T says all will be revealed tomorrow. Until then, I have no clue.
"The next four trains to wherever you don't want to go...
...will be arriving in 3, 5, 8 and 50 minutes."
You forgot the MBTA bingo
You forgot the MBTA bingo favorites, "express, on fire, medical, broke down, smoking brakes, no A/C, no heat"
Prediction: An analog board
Prediction:
An analog board that lights up.
It says "YES! A train is coming!"
It lights up between 5:30am and 12:30am.
The remaining 5 hours it is dark, indicating that no, a train is not coming.
Fantasy:
Multiple 55 inch TVs displaying the upcoming times for B,C,D outbound trains, all inbound trains, and all kenmore bus routes.
Another Fantasy: Live TV Feeds Of Other Stations
Another fantasy: Live TV feeds from the platforms of other stations up the line; you'd see where all the next trains are, so you'd get a fair idea of when to expect them to arrive at your station. Bonus: you'd see immediately when something goes wrong that shuts down the line, and also see exactly what's happening as service gets going again.
I'd love it if major station
I'd love it if major station busways had video feeds of the train platform visible to bus drivers.
That way, bus drivers could notice and prevent the common situation of no trains arriving for 15 minutes, followed by a late train arriving and passengers making a mad dash up the stairs, only to see the taillights of their infrequent bus.
haha
They know what they are doing. I have been on that infrequent bus that pulls away more often than I have missed it - and I see them glance at the subway when they hear it, or if they can see it (like at Malden or Wellington) and simply take off, even if it is a minute early. We need hold lights that are inspector enforced.
I take the T every day and
I take the T every day and there has never been a problem, ever. I love it and I think it's the best subway in the entire world.
Basis of comparison
What other transit systems have you encountered in your travels?
Well, once when I was on the
Well, once when I was on the Phobos I did encounter problems with gravity, but beyond that it's all good.
There's no possible way you
There's no possible way you could take the Green Line every day and love it. There are many better subway systems. The DC Metro is one, it blows away the T.